Gov. Murphy signs bill to provide $135M in federal aid to small businesses in NJ

Small businesses in New Jersey are now eligible for another round of grant money to help them recover from the coronavirus pandemic under a bill Gov. Phil Murphy signed into law Wednesday providing a pool of $135 million in federal aid.

The bipartisan measure (S3982) is the latest relief package the state has enacted to help businesses struggling in the wake of COVID- 19, which led to Murphy ordering nonessential businesses to close for months last year to help fight the spread of the virus that has killed more than 26,000 New Jersey residents.

This round of money consists of $55 million to microbusinesses, $15 million to bars and restaurants, $10 million to child care facilities, $10 million to for- profit arts and culture organizations, and $45 million to eligible small businesses and non-profit organizations.

The state Legislature approved the bill without a single no vote last month.

“As small businesses throughout New Jersey continue to struggle from the economic aftermath of COVID-19, we remain committed to providing them with the resources they need to recover,” Murphy said in a statement after signing the law.

The state’s Economic Development Authority, which administers the grants, has so far allocated more than $650 million in state and federal aid to tens of thousands of businesses in the 16 months since the pandemic started, according to Murphy’s administration.

Michele Siekerka, president of the New Jersey Business & Industry Association, said the money will bring “much-needed relief and assistance” to the state’s small businesses – about a third of which have closed during the pandemic.

Siekerka said “These long-awaited federal funds may help to prevent the closure of more surviving businesses after steep financial losses brought on by the pandemic,”. “Targeting this assistance to those that have been hit the hardest, including microbusinesses, food and beverage businesses, nonprofits and childcare providers, will be a positive for New Jersey’s economy.”

Siekerka also noted that the state is currently facing a “hiring crisis that continues to prevent many small businesses from fully reopening” and asked state leaders for help addressing it. New Jersey’s unemployment rate recently rose to 7.3%, higher than the 5.9% national rate.

Murphy, a Democrat running for re-election this year, said last week there are a number of issues contributing to the problem, including people hesitant to come back to work, people seeking higher-wage jobs, people retiring, and the $300 unemployment benefit being offered by the federal government.

The governor said he does not plan to cut off the $300 benefit because “you’ve got a whole lot of people who have been clobbered and who are hurting and who need every penny of that $300.”

Former state Assemblyman Jack Ciattarelli, the Republican nominee challenging Murphy in November’s governor’s race, criticized Murphy for Wednesday’s event, saying the governor is trying to “right the wrongs” of his business closings “with a political photo-op.”